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(...) At a time of widespread dissatisfaction with Congress and the White House, the folks at Americans Elect see an opening for a popularly nominated presidential candidate. As Kahlil Byrd, the organization’s chief executive officer, recently told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, “The issues and the ideas that will take the country to a better place are pretty obvious to the American people. They don’t seem to be obvious in the governing that we have in Washington.” (...) Here’s how the nominating process works: Any registered voter can sign up on the Americans Elect website to become an official...

America's Party ratified its 2012 Platform in national convention yesterday, making an already-great conservative document even better, with the expansion of its solid property rights plank and the addition of the Equal Protection for Posterity Resolution as its primary pro-life language. Text included below for your consideration.

Virgil Goode Jr. may have served six terms as a Republican congressman from Virginia, but he now feels he can best effect change as the Constitution Party’s candidate for president. In a brief interview with The Daily Caller, Goode said his platform consists of four planks: limited government, border security, rapidly adopting a balanced budget and enacting term limits. “If I’m fortunate enough to get the nomination of the Constitution Party, I will take as many votes from Obama as I would from the Republican nominee,” he said.

Rick Santorum had a somewhat super Tuesday on February 7th. He won all three Republican presidential primaries, thereby reviving a campaign that had failed to follow up on his victory in Iowa. Santorum could become the sole alternative to Romney for the Republican nomination. If that happens, he could become the GOP nominee in 2012. Should libertarians vote for him? Here’s my (broad) definition of a libertarian. A libertarian cares about individual liberty and thus limited government. Those concerns lead to further commitments to free markets in economics, moral pluralism in culture, and realism and restraint in foreign policy. Government...

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- Roseanne Barr's name is on California's primary ballot as a Green Party candidate for president. Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced Monday that Barr is among 24 candidates she intends to place on the June 5 ballot.

The Origins of the Republican Party Trying times spawn new forces. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 divided the country at the 36° 30' parallel between the pro-slavery, agrarian South and anti-slavery, industrial North, creating an uneasy peace which lasted for three decades. This peace was shattered in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Settlers would decide if their state would be free or slave. Northern leaders such as Horace Greeley, Salmon Chase and Charles Sumner could not sit back and watch the flood of pro-slavery settlers cross the parallel. A new party was needed. Salmon ChaseWhere was the party born? Following...

A third party run by Ron Paul in 2012 would make the presidential campaign path much more difficult for Rand in 2016, a year when the field will be much stronger than this cycle. I think the 2016 cycle is likely to bring out the candidates that the Republican Party was swooning over just months ago, namely Palin, Paul Ryan and Chris Christie.

There is a lot to find wrong about the political system in the United States. From the superabundance of unregulated political action committee funding to the constant and increasingly vitriolic tone of various campaigns, someone from the outside looking in might believe that democracy is an ugly, unfortunate process where the likelihood that the best candidate will win is roughly the same as spinning a roulette wheel and hoping for the best. But there are also elements of democracy that can inspire us, regardless of whether the ideology that drives the particular individual or party is one that we support....

Are there any conservative third party candidates of note this go around? I don't vote for progressives, and that includes Romney. So tell me about your candidates.

I know that the third party option has been discussed on this forum for a long time and most recently it has been a hot topic. I am a "newbie" and don't presume to tell others what to do, or think, but as a new member, this might qualify as an "out of the mouths of babes" observation. It has become obvious to me that there is no real discussion as to if a third party should be formed because the truth is WE (CONSERVATIVES) ARE A THIRD PARTY!!!!!! The GOP has cast us out. The Republicans are deciding to...

AE has reportedly raised more than $22 million so far and has already been certified to be placed on the ballot in 12 states now, including California. To getting on state ballots, AE evidenced mass organizing skills. The group says it collected over 2 million signatures nationwide in its effort to get on state ballots. KleinOnline found that two of AE’s board members, Kellen Arno and Michael Arno, were paid by the group for helping to run the massive signature gathering drive via their firm, Arno Political Consultants. Michael Arno is senior adviser to the Podesta Group lobbying and public...

Sarah Palin admonished Republicans not to ridicule Congressman Ron Paul. Sarah Palin is wrong. Ron Paul is a disloyal phony who has earned whatever contempt real Republicans have for him and his dangerously naive ideas about foreign policy. Ron Paul has shunned the party in the past, as he was the Libertarian Party candidate in 1988 and in 2008 he rejected the McCain/Palin ticket, instead embracing Cynthia McKinney and other third-party candidates for president 2008. Like a kid who is losing a game, Ron Paul took his ball and went home in 2008. But Missus Palin, sadly, seemed to be...

Anyone with the remotest interest in replacing Barack Obama as America's president in 2012 should take his eyes off Iowa and the boring ups and downs of the race for the Republican nomination.The real action that may well decide our next president is quietly going on elsewhere, in the state offices that qualify candidates and parties for the November 2012 presidential ballot.  You may not have heard much about a shadowy group called "Americans Elect" (it does not disclose its contributors because of alleged concerns that they might suffer loss of business or social contacts, and because it fancifully but...

The young Paulistas gathered to receive their marching orders. Get a haircut. Wear a tie. Be polite. Don't gratuitously annoy mainline Republicans. Leave the discussion of political philosophy to the candidate. Your job, they were instructed, is to win votes for Ron Paul. That was the scene as described to me in New York City this summer. Since then, it has become standard operating procedure for the activists once dismissed as the "Ron Paul kids" during their long march through the GOP. "No tats," one young Paul volunteer told the New York Times he was advised. No "fraternizing in the...

The potential for a third party presidential run from billionaire developer and reality TV star Donald Trump may be closer to becoming a reality show of its own. The Blaze received a copy of a confidential email sent out late Thursday afternoon from a Florida Tea Party leader and personal friend of Trump. The email requested assistance in building a team in Texas to make certain that, if Trump chooses to run, his name would be on the ballot. The email included:

Dear Friend, In this video commentary, I discuss how a group called America Elects is, inadvertently, paving the way for Ron Paul to run as a third candidate, which would re-elect Obama. Tune in!

Antsy Voters Look for a Third Way When Perot First Ran, 39% Were Dissatisfied; Today It’s 81%. ’Something Is Going to Explode’ •The nation’s dismay with Washington turns up in an array of polling results. To understand why the moment may be ripe for a real surprise next November, consider just these numbers: Ross Perot, who won nearly one in five votes in 1992 to become the most successful independent candidate in modern presidential politics, ran at a moment when 39% of Americans said they were dissatisfied with how the nation was being governed. Today, Gallup reports, 81% say they...

President Obama's re-election team is keeping a wary eye on a group pledging to put an independent ticket on the ballot in next year's elections, top Democratic strategists hinted Tuesday. In a meeting with reporters, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina and top strategist David Axelrod said they expected the group, Americans Elect, to be on the ballot in most states next year. And though the group says it will use the most open, democratic process possible to select a nominee, Obama's campaign is questioning both their means and motives. Americans Elect will allow any registered voter to cast a ballot...

Over the past few years, there’s been much talk about some talk about a kind of “Republican Civil War� between the old dog GOP establishment and the newly energized Tea Party. This past weekend though, Glenn Beck did something impressive when he managed to piss them both off during an appearance on Fox Business Network. He annoyed the establishment by saying they were filled with progressives and that the only difference between Newt Gingrich and Barack Obama was that he was white and he annoyed the Tea Party by asking them if that was why they liked him. And if...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich leads the GOP field in Iowa according to a new poll, holding a double digit lead over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. In a new Rasmussen Reports poll, Gingrich holds 32 percent among likely caucus goers. Mitt Romney comes in with 19 percent and businessman Herman Cain holds 13 percent. Ron Paul received 10 percent support but no other candidate broke double digits. The poll also found that although 77 percent of respondents said they would vote for any GOP candidate who received the nomination, 32 percent said that they would consider a third-party candidate...

As his path to the Republican nomination for president looks increasingly impossible, former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer’s campaign is starting to mull a third-party run. Last week, Roemer campaign manager Carlos Sierra told The Daily Caller that while he had been exploring other possible options for his candidate, Roemer himself was still focused on the Republican primary. But on Wednesday Sierra suggested that Roemer is aware of his actions and was beginning to consider the idea. “The whole South Carolina and Florida thing — it’s definitely getting him thinking a little more about other options,” Sierra said.

There are two, primary things that have fueled Mitt Romney's campaign -- his image as an economic guru and the idea that he's the most electable of the Republican nominees. But there are joint arguments that call the latter into question. First, there's the theoretical argument -- made today by Red State's Erick Erickson in a blistering, bruising post -- which claims that Romney is a certain loser against Barack Obama. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, is a man devoid of any principles other than getting himself elected. As much as the American public does not like Barack...

On this week’s edition of “Fox News Sunday,” Texas Rep. Ron Paul put rumors of a third-party presidential run to rest, saying he had no interest in running as a third party candidate. But that doesn’t mean he would support the eventual GOP nominee. Speculation about that potential endgame has swirled since Rep. Paul first announced that he would not be running for re-election to Congress. “Probably not unless I get to talk to them and find out what they believe in,” Paul said of whether he would support the Republican nominee — presuming it’s not him.

Laurie Roth from Washington state is running not as a Republican, but as a self-described patriot and conservative on the American Independent Party ticket. She says she's already on the ballot in California, and will take steps to make sure her name is listed in the other 49 states. Another pledge by Roth is to become totally energy independent in four years. "America will be the largest exporter of energy in the world," says Roth. "Disconnect from OPEC. Employ 20 million people in energy infrastructure jobs [including] natural gas, oil, nuclear, solar and alternative fuels."

Take with a HUGE grain of salt… Huge. Conservative talk show host, Dr Gina Louden, says that she has “information from a reliable source,” that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is reconsidering a run for the White House in 2012. Sarah Palin announced on October 5, that she would not be running in 2012 and that she would not run third party. With the recent fire storm that has hit Herman Cain about sexual harassment charges and with Romney being a complete RINO, a Palin entrance would be pretty awesome right now. You can listen to audio of Dr. Gina...

President Obama and his Republican opponent may have some tough competition from a third party in 2012. A nonpartisan group says it’s gathered millions of signatures along with millions of dollars from voters unhappy with Washington. The group, called Americans Elect, is creating an internet-based third party where voters will choose someone to run in next year’s election. So far, the site has more than 1.9 million signatures and raised almost $22 million.

A well-funded group called Americans Elect is planning to hold a national primary election on the Internet with the aim of nominating a centrist third-party candidate for president in 2012. Americans Elect is a collection of Republicans, Democrats and independents who say they are disgusted by the polarization that has poisoned American politics, the Los Angeles Times reported. The group is collecting signatures to put itself on the ballot in every state, and claims it has collected 1.6 million signatures in California.

Ron Paul would not pledge to rule out a third-party run for president if he did not get the Republican nod. Paul said he is running for the Republican nomination and to make such an announcement now would undermine his current campaign. However, Ron Paul hinted several times during the interview that the thought is in his mind. Paul noted that there are more registered Independents than Republicans or Democrats in the state of New Hampshire. When asked if he would pledge not to run as a third candidate Paul dodged giving a direct answer. "I pledge that I have...

A fellow tea-party candidate and Alaskan politician who drew Sarah Palin's endorsement in 2010 says it's not "out of the realm of possibility" that the former governor might still run for president in 2012 … as an independent. Former Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller evaluated the chances Palin might run in a conversation with Aaron Klein during the host's "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" program on New York City's WABC Radio. When asked if Palin, who announced she would not seek the Republican nomination for president, might consider running as an independent, Miller replied, "You know, I think it's unlikely....

More than 40 percent of Americans believe that both Republican and Democrat policies are moving the country in the wrong direction, while Tea Party approval has sunk to the mid-20s. Despite widespread dissatisfaction with President Obama, even Republicans acknowledge the weakness of their 2012 field — giving rise to persistent fantasies about a Chris Christie candidacy. In reaction to D.C.'s division and dysfunction, a record number of Americans now identify as independent voters while a majority says it's time for a third party. We are a country that innovates its way out of problems. And there is an innovative alternative...

If Rick Perry wins the Republican primary, would you vote for him in the general? Would you stay home? Or, would you vote for a third candidate or support a third party? Would you get behind a third party?

Unions splitting from Democrats in 2012, Trumka says Share Tweet posted at 4:05 pm on August 25, 2011 by Ed Morrissey printer-friendly The media likes to push the notion that the Republican Party will split in two because of the Tea Party, but they may have missed a real split on the other side of the aisle. AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka announced the creation of a union super-PAC that will “build our own structure� rather than “build structures for others.� And by “others,� Trumka means the Democratic Party: The growing rift between labor and their Democratic allies was on full...

I spoke recently with a senior Democrat strategist who offered up a quite logical and incredibly frightening scenario for those who are desperate to vote Barack Obama out of office in 2012. His theory goes like this: That the Obama White House and the Obama re-election team are going to work overtime behind the scenes to push enough of Texas Republican Ron Paul's "libertarian" buttons to eventually have him declare as a third-party candidate. This strategist believes that as unemployment continues to remain above 9%, as the president's poll numbers continue to slide, and as more and more of the...

The numbers are startling. ......Given all of the above, advocates of a third party — or at the very least another viable option in the 2012 presidential race — seem to be sprouting up all over. [snip] The two most prominent are Americans Elect, a group aimed at winning ballot access for an eventual third-party candidate, and No Labels, an organization filled with high-profile names — including former George W. Bush media consultant Mark McKinnon and former Kentucky state treasurer Jonathan Miller — designed as an online home for the politically disaffected. “If you build it (ballot access), they (candidates...

This is what progressives do. Grow power in the executive, at the expense of other branches. Once again, you have the republican establishment snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory and putting defeat right back front and center. It's time to light up McConnell's office, no matter what part of the country you're from. One of the headlines regarding what McConnell just said is this: McConnell Proposal Gives Obama Power to Increase Debt Limit And that's exactly the kind of thing that's going to get tea partiers to form a third party. That's the last thing we need. And...

RUSH: Kendall, Greenville, North Carolina, hi. Glad you waited. Welcome to the EIB Network. CALLER: Mega Rush Baby dittos, Rush, from Jim DeMint Country. RUSH: Thank you, sir! CALLER: Rush, my question for you was -- and I haven't been paying attention to politics for a real long time, but, you know, we know what liberals are. We know what we get when we elected a liberal, i.e., Barack Obama. RUSH: That's right. CALLER: But what about the RINOs? You know, we elect these Republicans, like Olympia Snowe, the list could go on and on. My question is: In your...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Maureen in St. Louis, thank you for waiting. You're next on Open Line Friday. Hi. CALLER: Thanks, Rush. You hit the nail on the head right at the opening. If they cave on this deal for extending the debt, I'm done, I am so done with the Republicans. My very first vote was Ronald Reagan in 1980, I have supported 'em, but if they cave this time, I'm gonna have to go in a different direction. RUSH: You won't be alone. There will be a third party. If they cave that means the reelection of Obama in...

July 3, 2011 2 Republicans Open Door to Increases in Revenue By JOHN M. BRODER WASHINGTON — Two senior Republicans said Sunday that they might be open to raising new government revenue as part of a deal to resolve the dispute over the federal debt ceiling, but they warned that there was little time to enact a comprehensive deal. One of the senators, John Cornyn of Texas, said he would consider eliminating some tax breaks and corporate subsidies in the context of changes in the tax code, provided there was not an overall increase in taxes. “I think it’s clear...

From dynamic presidential hopefuls such as Rep. Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain to rank-and-file party activists from across the country, Republicans who gathered in New Orleans Friday all pledged their fealty to the cause of defeating President Barack Obama in 2012. But Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former national party chairman, delivered a stern warning to Republican Leadership Conference delegates: Don't look for perfection in the potential nominees and don't even think about drafting a third-party candidate when the nomination fight is done. "Don't get hung up on purity," he said. "In politics, purity is a loser. ... In this...

Here is the why Romney will be the republican nominee and why Perry or Cain or Bachmann will not save the republicans. Romney is moving left on global warming and staying the course on Romneycare and you will see him take his natural left positions on other issues as the campaign gets underway. His goal is to attract as many democrat voters into the republican open primaries as possible to vote for him. Meanwhile , Bachmann has been brought into the race by the establishment as well as Cain who has no idea. Perry is coming in too. This is...

Conservative PAC FreedomWorks, a prominent Tea Party group chaired by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, is targeting Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch in the 2012 Senate race. The group, arguing Hatch has insufficiently conservative economic views, is launching the so-called "Retire Orrin Hatch" campaign at Utah's Republican Convention on Saturday. "It's clear that Senator Hatch is trying to capitalize on the popularity of the Tea Party movement by reinventing himself as a fiscal conservative," said Russ Walker, Vice President of Political and Grassroots Campaigns for FreedomWorks PAC, in a statement. "But his recent rhetoric and actions in favor of limited...

Washington (CNN) - Mitt Romney has a message to Tea Party candidates nationwide: If you lose your Republican primary bids, stay on the sidelines. The former Massachusetts governor on Monday warned the grassroots movement not to mount third party efforts in general elections, which he said would siphon votes from Republican nominees. "If there is a conservative candidate that runs in the general election, then obviously, divide and fail is the result," Romney said in an interview with the conservative Web site Newsmax. "Hopefully Tea Party candidates will run in respective primaries and they will either win or lose. And...

Sarah Palin says the GOP should be fearing the possibility of a third-party rising up because the people are simply not happy with what they are doing in Congress. She cites the lack of a concerted aggressive message on the part of the GOP to tell the American public that the reason there hasn’t been a budget passed in over 700 days is because the Democrats are derelict in their duty to pass one. She also cites how many in the GOP are vacillating on their promise to repeal ObamaCare, now suggesting that they can just tweak it. She also...

Just saw Sarah Palin on Hannity. When asked about Donald Trump possibly running as a Third Party Candidate, Sarah said that a year ago she would have resisted such an idea. But, the GOP has failed to do what the American people elected them to do (Repeal Obamacare, no budget passed, etc.) and if they "don't get their stuff together" there is going to be a Third Party rise up because the GOP has failed to do the job and give the people of America a sound message of their plan for America because they are so afraid of offending...

Kathleen Courtney Hochul, the Erie County clerk and longtime Democratic figure who defied political experts who had given her little chance of success, ground out a stunning and surprisingly comfortable victory Tuesday in the special election for the House seat in the predominantly Republican 26th Congressional District. Hochul defeated Republican Jane L. Corwin, a Clarence assemblywoman, 47 percent to 43 percent, with 97 percent of election districts reporting, while the Tea Party's Jack Davis mustered only 9 percent in his fourth try for the seat. Ian L. Murphy of the Green Party recorded 1 percent, while overall turnout was about...

The NRCC continues its efforts to remind voters in New York’s 26th congressional district that self-proclaimed “Tea Party” candidate Jack Davis is a three-time Democratic U.S. House candidate who endorsed Obama and cheered on Nancy Pelosi’s majority in the House. VIDEO Meanwhile, American Crossroads takes a look at Davis’s record as a candidate and a businessman: VIDEO The special election in this district is May 24.

Fifty-two percent of Republicans want a major third party to compete with Democrats and the GOP, according to a Gallup poll released Monday. An even larger percentage of Tea Partiers, 60 percent, want a new party. The portion of Americans who want a third party has been at or above 50 percent since mid-2006, but this is the first time a majority of Republicans have felt that way since Gallup began asking the question in 2003. This is news Donald Trump can seize on--he's flirted with running as an independent once he's done flirting with running as a Republican in...

PORTLAND, Maine -- A majority of Americans believe the nation needs a third major political party, according to the results of a new Gallup poll. Fifty-eight percent of Americans believe a third major political party is needed because the Republican and Democratic Parties do a poor job of representing the American people. The number of people who said the parties are doing an adequate job was 40 percent. Independents have always been most supportive of a third party, with 68 percent saying as much in the latest poll. But a significant party gap was recorded in the poll, with 52...

Imagine what the numbers will be after the inevitable GOP cave on the debt ceiling. This is the first time Gallup finds a significantly higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in favor of a third party. During much of President Bush’s term, the opposite was true, with Democrats more likely to favor the formation of a third party. That gap narrowed in 2007, after the Democrats’ victories in the 2006 midterms, and there has been a minimal difference between the two parties until the current poll.The increase in Republican support for a third party since 2008 could be an outgrowth...

TERRACE, British Columbia, April 27, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A British Columbia Green party candidate in Canada’s upcoming federal election said he’s glad he decided to “get rid of” his unborn child and appeared to imply that pregnant women look “like the back end of a bus.” “I am sick to death about hearing murdering babies,” said Roger Benham, Green candidate for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, in a candidates’ debate April 20th.  He told the audience that he had conceived a child with a woman when he was 25.  “Thank God we decided to get rid of it,” he said, according to the...